A Very Rayella Christmas
by ausllylovexo
Summary: Everyone is going up to a freezing, snowy winter town for Christmas - the SEQUEL to Camp Catastrophe! Don't worry, you don't have to read that story first. Just a very cute, Rayella story! Rated T for mild language and romance!
1. Chapter 1

**Rayella is just so cute! This is the sequel to "Camp Catastrophe"! I don't know why I got inspired to write this…considering it's the middle of summer….but I hope you like it anyways! REVIEW!**

**- Amber! :D**

* * *

_Ray_

"Ray!"

Stella laughed, flinging another snowball at me. It hit me straight in the eyes, and I pretended to cover my face in pain. Stella ran over, looking distressed.

"Ow – oh, God -"

"Are you ok?" Stella bent down lower to check my face out, and I smiled beneath my hands. Grabbing her around the waist, I tackled her to the ground.

I leaned closer, and kissed her on the nose, which was covered with little snow crystals. She giggled, pulling her bright orange parka tight around her. I unwrapped the bright scarf she was up to her nose, and kissed her softly – her lips were almost frozen.

God, I loved winter.

We didn't really get much of it up in Arizona, but me, Stella, Lemonade Mouth, and our families had traveled to Minnesota for Christmas Break. We were staying in Duluth, a small town with lots of brightly colored colonial houses, and a cute area in the middle filled with vintage stores and strung with decorations.

This was where we were right now – in town, right outside the hotel where everyone was staying.

"HOT CHOCOLATE!," screamed Wen, banging down the hotel door, "If you two can keep off each other for two seconds, you can come and get some!"

I leapt up, tugging Stella to her feet too. She wrapped her arms around me, and I realized – with a smile – that Wen was right. We really _couldn't _keep off each other for more than two seconds.

Ever since camp, we had been inseparable.

Also, it had been kind of hard to keep off each other, if you get what I meant. Oh, sure, we'd been close to doing it – well, not that close, but both me and Stella wanted our first time to be special, and probably when and if we were married. But that was pretty far off, and right now I just wanted to focus on the present. We were now Seniors – the trip to camp had been last year, at the end – almost summer.

Anyways.

It was really hot inside the hotel, because the couple who ran the tiny place – Frank and Linda, old people who were really nice – had used to the gas stove in the kitchen to make dinner. It was late. A few other groups of people sat around in the living area, but Lemonade Mouth and all the relatives sat farther away, on the enclosed porch. Me and Stella grabbed hot chocolate and some Lucky Charms to share, and went to sit with them.

"RAY!" My little sister, Abby, flew into me and gave me a huge hug. Her long blonde hair tickled my arms, and I spun her around in a circle before putting her down gently next to my dad. Abby waved at Stella with a huge smile on her face, and then went back to playing a game with dad. Six-year-olds were so easily entertained.

"Ray, man, where you been?" Scott clapped me on the back, spilling hot chocolate all over his sweater. "Oh, damn, there it goes…"

"Hey, language," warned Mo, coming up behind him.

I sat down on the floor – honestly, all the porch seats were taken – and Stella laid down on my shoulder, taking all the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms. I grinned at her, and she grinned back.

"You too are so cute it makes me want to throw up," grimaced Wen, an arm wrapped around Olivia's waist. She had just gotten word from home that her grandmother had fallen and sprained her back, so she was a little emo. Ahem. Sorry, not emo, just sad.

"Two-shay," I shot back at him. Me and Lemonade Mouth still had that old rivalry, but it had gotten better over time, as our bands started to hang out more.

Charlie and his girlfriend, Cassie, were hanging out by the fireplace. Her long, chestnut-brown hair was braided down her back, and tucked into a knitted hat. She also wore glasses, and was a bit of a dork, but was really sweet and nice to everyone. She handled all the craziness in Lemonade Mouth well. Every once in a while, the old fireplace would _POP_, and Cassie would shoot back. Everyone got a good laugh out of it.

Frank hobbled into the room with his cane, smiling a wrinkly smile. "You folks a-OK in here?"

Everyone yelled a huge _YEAH! _and Frank beamed, walking back over to the kitchen.

It was quiet for a few minutes, with just a some low conversations. I looked over at Stella, who's eyes were fluttering closed, and I yawned. So did Abby, Cassie, Stella's little brothers, and the other little family members the group had brought along. Wow. Those things really were contagious.

"I think it's bedtime," sing-songed Mo, rounding up all the kids, including Scott's little brother, Max.

Mo and the parents went up to the rooms, gathering all the kids, and getting them in bed. Abby gave everyone a hug – which took a while – and finally went too.

I kissed Stella softly when no one was looking, and her eyes blinked open. She smiled, and shook out her hair, which had gotten quite frozen.

Tomorrow, we were going Christmas shopping.

* * *

**New story! **

**This is so much fun to write, so make sure you review! **

**It gives me motivation and all that, to get chapters up sooner! :) **

**- Amber -**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! Thanks for all the reviews, I'm the kind of person that freaks out when I get, like, three. But hopefully, I'll get some more good ones! From now on, I'll try and get the chapters longer and longer...this is the last short one, promise! **

**- Amber -**

* * *

_Stella_

There was trouble in paradise.

Scott and Mo had gotten in some huge fight last night, and no one knew why. Olivia had gotten news this morning (by e-mail) that her grandmother was in intensive care – her back was worse. She had been crying ever since we had woken up. Charlie accidentally hit Cassie in the face with a door last night, and now her nose was bandaged and halfway-broken. Things were awkward. Oh, and Abby told Scott's little brother Max that she liked him – and he told her girls were stupid cootie-faces. I think that was pretty insulting in little-kid language. Abby was heartbroken.

I honestly felt like banging my head on a table.

This morning, I came down the stairs humming, smiling at Linda who was putting breakfast on a few tables. She was so nice. The hotel was so cozy, and I loved being here with everyone. Well, maybe not now…things were pretty tense. Someone needed to fix this mess.

"I told you to just keep away, Scott!"

"Mo, it was stupid – I'm sorry! Hey, come back – I said I was sorry!"

"Oh, yeah. That fixes just _freaking everything, _doesn't it?"

Uh, oh. Here comes the happy couple.

Mo stormed down the stairs, wearing Snoopy pajama bottoms and a v-neck shirt. Scott was fully dressed, but looked exhausted and tired, like he hadn't slept at all.

"Uh…morning, guys." I backed away a little, trying to act like things were normal.

Mo just huffed, and grabbed a muffin.

Ray came down the stairs, wearing jeans and a crew-neck shirt. He was carrying Abby, who had buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing. Ray smiled a little at me, and then seated Abby at a table, trying to get her to eat something.

"Morning," he said as I came over, kissing me on the cheek.

"Where are her parents?" I asked, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

Ray raised an eyebrow. "Having fun," he said, putting little air-quotes around the words.

"Oh, god," I choked, sitting down next to Abby. She looked up at me, her clear blue eyes red and puffy.

I gave her a hug, smiling, but she just burst into tears again, so I gave up.

Cassie bounded down the stairs, looking adorable as usual – except for her nose, which was covered in dozens of band-aids. The cartoon ones like SpongeBob and Dora. Her hair was long, glossy, and straight down her back, held in place with a black headband. She was all ready to go, with dark skinny jeans tucked into tall boots, and a creamy white cardigan over a grey tank top. I should mention – she's pretty tall. Charlie came up awkwardly behind her, not holding her hand like he usually did.

I waved, and Cassie winced, looking apologetic. Charlie winced too.

While the parents and kids came down – Abby proceeded to hide under the table when she saw Max – I went upstairs to get dressed and shower. I decided to wear a simple white, soft v-neck shirt over black skinny jeans, along with a few chunky bracelets. Grabbing my bright orange parka – Ray says I could stop traffic with the stupid thing – I raced back downstairs, discovering everyone ready to go. Of course, they were all wearing different colored jackets – we looked like a pack of Skittles. Also, it went below freezing in Duluth. _Way _cold.

"You look bright, Miss Yamada." Ray caught me around the waist, as I was about out the front door. We were walking to a toy store a few blocks into town.

"Well, I _am_ known for my stupid, traffic-stopping jacket, aren't I?"

"You could stop traffic without the jacket," Ray whispered in my ear, and my heart pounded. He kissed me on the ear, and then ran away.

"LOSER!" I yelled at him, grinning. He grinned back.

The other couples weren't so flirty, though. Well – maybe Wen and Olivia weren't _fighting, _but Wen had wrapped his arm around Olivia's shoulders while she sniffled on his shoulder. Not really flirting. Cassie was chatting with Mo, who kept shooting Scott death glares. Charlie hung around the back with Mo's parents. Mo's dad seemed pretty happy that his daughter and her boyfriend were fighting; he kept chattering to Charlie about it.

We finally arrived at the toy store after a freezing, long walk. It was a cool little place, lots of wood, and not like you would expect. They had a lot of handmade toys, but also toys from today, like Barbie's and Lego's. I was thinking about sneaking off and getting Ray a huge chocolate Santa for Christmas, but he caught me around the waist, kissing me gently.

"So, what do you want for Christmas?"

"You," I said simply, "Just kiss me on Christmas day, I'll be happy"

"Stella, seriously."

"I am being serious!"

"We could do more than kiss…." Ray trailed off suggestively.

I blushed, punching him in the stomach. "Not yet!"

Ray opened his mouth to argue, but then Abby came over, begging Ray to come over and see this awesome dollhouse made out of wood and candy. I smiled, and watched him go.

"Hey, wassup, Stell?" Wen came up behind me, and flung an arm around my shoulder.

I grinned at him knowingly. "What do you want, Wen?"

He got to the point. "Okay, what should I get a 5'6, blonde girl who's really upset for Christmas?"

I laughed. "You mean Olivia?"

"Yeah."

"Just…get her something sweet. Maybe a stuffed animal, a box of chocolates, some flowers…a gift like that. Olivia _loves_ romantic stuff." I looked around the store for her; she was in the card aisle.

"Thanks, Stell. You're the best." Wen ran off like an idiot to go look for her gift.

I wandered around the store, looking for gifts. I got a few trucks and some spy gear for my little brothers, and a whole bunch of other gifts for Lemonade Mouth. For my mom, I got a nice scarf, and for my dad, a tie for his collection that said "GENIUS." He loves ties.

Finally, I got a little card for Ray that said 'Loser' on the front, but said 'I Love You' inside. Also, a snow cone machine – you just take snow from outside, or make your own, and choose a flavor to add.

But most importantly, I thought about what Ray said. I knew he was going to get me something sweet, but I just wasn't sure about the whole more-than-a-kiss thing.

I had a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

_Ray_

Me and Stella walked home a little early to get away from all the madness at the toy store; at check out, Max had kissed Abby on the cheek, saying he was sorry but that she was still a little gross. It made Abby happy though. Also, Cassie had tripped and hit her nose – _again. _She now thought it was broken, but the store owner assured her it was not, just sprained badly. I didn't even know you could sprain your nose…Cassie was a klutz.

"So, Miss Yamada," I started, taking one of Stella's hands, "Whatcha get for everyone?"

Stella told me everything she got except for my gift, and I drifted out of it for a while, instead watching the way her lips moved, and how she looked freezing but was still excited and happy. Stella Yamada, long-time girlfriend of soccer star Ray Beech, and revolutionary of Mesa High. Little snow flakes drifted around, getting caught in my hair, and stuck on my jacket.

We knocked on the hotel doors, and Linda answered, looking surprised to see us.

"Oh, hello! You two are home earlier than I expected!"

"Things got crazy," I answered, rolling my eyes. Stella nodded too.

We sprawled out by the fire, soaking wet and cold. The flames danced all over the room, and I was reminded of the bonfire, when Stella first kissed me.

"_Trust me, I weigh more than 100 pounds," scoffed Stella._

"_Sure. Sure you do."_

"_I do!"_

"_Lies."_

I pulled Stella closer, wrapping my arms around her waist. She leaned back, and we kissed for a minute. Then, she pulled away.

"Did you really mean what you said earlier?" Stella asked, looking curious.

"Maybe a little. I mean, doesn't every guy wish that?"

Stella just sighed, and stood up.

I smiled at her, and she smiled back, her thinking face on.

Even I wasn't sure what we would do.

* * *

**Don't worry, the rating won't change! Stella and Ray won't go that far! Haha. REVIEW! Pretty please? :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! So, I found a way to sneak on my dad's laptop while he's at work (haha) and so...I can write! I'll be back home soon, and updating more often, but I just had so many ideas for this story, it was driving me crazy. Here's the story! Don't forget to review, because I freak out like usual. :)**

**- Amber -**

* * *

_Ray_

I woke up to a bullhorn.

No joke, as soon as I finally fell asleep after thinking about me and Stella, Scott started waking everyone up. I'm not sure where he got the bullhorn, or if he brought it along, but it was annoying as hell.

Obviously, no one woke up happy.

"Scott, are you _high, _or something?" Wen jumped off his bed, and tried to snatch away the bullhorn. Scott just smirked, and walked away.

"Man, what are you _doing?"_ I groaned, getting out of bed, and throwing on a shirt on over my boxers.

Charlie rolled over, and glared at Scott without saying anything. The Delgado Stare.

"Great, so we're all up?" said Scott happily, throwing the bullhorn down on the wooden floor, where it clanged a few times.

"Yeah."

"Totally. Great."

"I'll kill you with my bare hands."

Scott just circled the room a few times, his hands behind his back military-style. Sure, he didn't look too intimidating in just plaid pajama bottoms, but he was trying. He cleared his throat.

"Men, we all have problems."

"We know you do," grumbled Charlie.

"But we - as men - are going to solve those problems. _Right now._ And thus, enjoy our freaking Christmas once and for all," said Scott, acting all proper and leader-ish.

"What is my problem, you ask?" started Scott, stopping in front of all us.

"Waking people up at six in the morning with bullhorns?" suggested Wen.

"Yeah," agreed Scott, "But no. Me and Mo, obviously, have problems. You should have noticed that unless you're blind, deaf, or mentally handicapped."

"Yeah," I said. "So?"

"Well, I'll _tell _you _SO, _Mr. Beech," Scott yelled, getting worked up in his military act, "I...I'll go and beg for forgiveness! Right now! Yeah!"

So, he ran out of the room, down the hall, and pounded on the girl's room door. We all ran out too - to watch him fail.

But he didn't fail.

Mo answered the door in pajamas, her eyes widening, but Scott just grabbed her in a hug, and whispered an apology in her ear. Something about how he was so sorry for letting Baba catch them, and how he'll never let in happen again. Mo relaxed, smiled, and hugged him back tighter.

Wen, Charlie, and I stared in awe. He was the freakin' master.

Scott bent down to give Mo a kiss on the cheek goodbye, and then she closed the door, grinning.

"And that, men, is how it's done." Scott smirked, and gave us a mocking salute.

* * *

_Stella_

After Scott woke us up at 6:30 in the morning, I couldn't get back to sleep like the others. So instead, I snuck downstairs to grab something to eat. I was surprised to find Linda down there, reading a newspaper in one of the breakfast booths.

"Oh, hi," I said, straightening my t-shirt and smoothing down my hair, "Do you mind if I get something to eat?"

"Not at all, dear," she smiled, her wrinkly old face lighting up at the sight of customers. How do old people put on makeup without it getting stuck in their wrinkles? Oh, why am I even thinking this? I give up.

I walked over to the serve-yourself counter, and grabbed a piece of toast and a espresso coffee, because I seriously needed a pick-me-up. Smiling at Linda, I walked back upstairs, then decided I didn't want to sleep.

I grabbed a jacket, and went to the porch instead, opening the screen door silently.

Surprisingly, I found Wen and Olivia sitting there. Wasn't Olivia just in our room? I guess not.

"A-and, it's just so hard, because Gram is almost all I have left now," sniffled Olivia, "I mean, what would I do if she was gone?"

"You would come live with me."

"Wen! Be serious!"

"I am," he chuckled, hugging her tighter to his chest. Olivia let out a cross between a sob and a laugh.

I shivered out there, in my pajama shorts and jacket. Olivia closed her eyes, and let out that sigh that meant you were done crying.

"I'll always be there for you, Liv," whispered Wen softly. A small smile played on Olivia's lips.

I backed away carefully, and closed the door, letting the happy couple rest in silence. For some reason, I felt bitter. Why couldn't me and Ray solve out problems like that?

It was so unfair.

I sulked in the small lobby living room, on a couch as old as old as my grandpa. I could barely eat my toast and coffee - they just tasted like dust in a way. I barely noticed them.

_Did_ me and Ray have problems? I didn't know, but this whole more-than-a-kiss thing was getting to me.

* * *

_Ray_

I walked downstairs a little later - I went to sleep for a few hours - and found Cassie and Stella talking quietly in a breakfast booth. I carefully backed out of the room, and listened for a minute.

" - and, I mean, I don't know why it's so awkward between Charlie and me. It _was_ just an accident."

Cassie pulled her legs up to her chest, looking worried. She was dressed in a cream-colored cardigan, black leggings, and slouchy brown boots. Her long brown hair was held in place with a thin black headband. Stella was still in pajamas, but was listening to Cassie intently.

"So, what about you and Ray?" Cassie asked.

I almost jumped. You and Ray? What?

"I dunno," muttered Stella, tracing a heart on the table with her finger, "I just...don't know what to think about what he said...this whole, more-than-I-kiss thing."

Cassie gasped, and leaned forward. "You were going to do more than kiss? When?"

"I don't know," said Stella helplessly, "But-but we just talked about, and I'm not sure if I would want to...lose anything to Ray. I think I love him, and all...but I'm not sure."

I ran a hand through my hair. I'd had no idea Stella felt that way.

Cassie looked even more worried. "We're seriously screwed, aren't we?"

Stella laughed. "Yeah. Kind of."

I walked back upstairs, worried even more than Cassie had been.

* * *

_Stella_

Cassie got up from the table, and got a French donut from the serve-yourself counter. I had no idea what made it French, but they were the best donuts I had ever tasted. Frank made them fresh every morning. But right now, I was too messed up to even think about that.

I heard a creak from the stairs, and looked around the corner, but no one was there.

"Cassie?" I asked nervously.

"Hhmm?"

"Did you and Charlie ever...you know?"

"Oh, no way," giggled Cassie, "I think Charlie would be even more terrified of that than I would be."

Suddenly, someone knocked on the hotel doors, startling both me and Cassie. Usually, no one came this early in the morning - which was why the doors were locked.

"_I got it," _grumbled Frank, hobbling towards the huge oak doors. He flung them open, and there in the hail and snow was...

Olivia and Wen, looking frozen.

"Uh, hi...Frank...sorry, we kind of...got locked outside."

I sighed, feeling miserable.

* * *

_Ray_

Around lunchtime, everyone was up and ready. All the little kids were gathered around a breakfast booth having lunch with their parents, and Lemonade Mouth (plus me and Cassie) were debating whether to go sledding or ice-skating.

"Ice-skating is sooooo romantic, though...sometimes," said Mo, glancing up at Scott.

"But we can be romantic on sleds?" suggested Scott.

Stella didn't look or talk to anyone the whole time...not even me. I felt a little sick.

Wen and Charlie were arguing for sledding, while Cassie and Mo were arguing for ice-skating.

"_EVERYONE SHUT UP," _I yelled. They all looked at me like I was demented. I crossed my arms, and shrugged.

"Let's just do both."

So it was decided. While the parents got their kids in heavy snow-suits, Lemonade Mouth just grabbed some jackets and headed for Charlie's brother's van - Tommy had come up yesterday night, and was more than happy to help us.

Tommy waited for the little kids to load in, and then we drove to a small ice-skating place right in the middle of town.

On the drive up, I sat in between Olivia and Scott - Stella was sitting scrunched up way to the side, looking miserable. My stomach twisted, wanting to ask her what was wrong, and help, but this time I knew what the problem was.

Me.

We finally arrived, and had a hell of a time getting everyone skates. When that was finally done, Lemonade Mouth skated around the rink in a pack of rowdy teenagers. The rink was really nice, strung with soft purple lights and little benches around the side. It was actually outside, which made it colder, but it was fun. I pushed Scott a few times, and he pushed me down, so I got really wet.

Stella was hanging around the back of the group, skating but not enjoying it. Everyone else was having too much fun to notice, but I did.

Even though it probably wasn't the smartest thing, I stumbled over to her.

"Hey," I said, smiling.

She didn't even look up. "Hey."

"Listen...if you have a problem, you can tell me, alright?"

"I don't have a problem. Can't you see how happy I am?" Stella said sarcastically.

I sighed, and skated away.

* * *

_Stella_

__A few hours later, after sledding and skating, everyone sat in the lobby/living room drinking hot chocolate. Cassie and Charlie were holding hands by the fire, and the little kids were playing with toys.

It was almost like the first night we were here, but I knew it wasn't.

Because me and Ray weren't holding hands.

We weren't on the couch together.

We weren't even talking to each other.

Eventually, I couldn't stand it, and I raced outside in jeans and a t-shirt.

Slamming the door behind me, I ran down the street until I was out of breath and freezing. I didn't even know where I was; it was like a blizzard out. Shivering, I leaned against the brick wall of a bakery, holding my arms. I could see my breath, frozen in midair, drifting to the ground in flurries.

I heard a faint voice.

"_Stella - !"_

Was that Ray?

I never wanted to see him again. Holding back tears, I stumbled across the street, but I never made it that far. Instead, I collapsed on a bench, sobbing and wishing I was anywhere but here in stupid Duluth.

"_ARE YOU INSANE?" _Ray screamed, appeared out of the hail and snow, fighting to stay put in the wind.

"Go away!" I tried to yell, but my voice caught in my throat.

"_We have to go back!" _Ray sprinted towards me, holding my jacket.

"_JUST LEAVE ME HERE_," I yelled at him, trying not to cry.

Ray stood there, a few feet from me, looking crushed. His eyes narrowed, and he threw the jacket down at my feet, and walked away.

I watched him leave, until I couldn't see anything anymore. I closed my eyes.

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffhanger! I wrote for hours to make this chapter extra-long, since I was gone! REVIEW! :)**

**(And don't worry, in the next chapter things will be less dramatic between Rayella!)**

**- Amber -**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, I AM FINALLY BACK OMIGOSH YAY! I'm so sorry I was gone for so long, I was on a three-week vacation and I'm so glad to be back. Seriously. I'm leaving to go to Minnesota next Sunday, but I think I'll have internet up there...so I can write. Kay, so here's the story!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lemonade Mouth. Sadly. **

* * *

_Stella_

As I closed my eyes, I realized I didn't feel cold anymore. Just a little numb.

When had Ray left? Was it a few minutes, or an hour ago? I tried to feel around, grasp at something, but there was nothing there. Nothing at all. Was I wearing my jacket? What was happening?

I tried to open my eyes.

I couldn't open my eyes.

And that was when I drifted away, to a place where I couldn't think anymore.

* * *

_Ray_

This was getting really fricking annoying.

_Beep._

Would she wake up? Like, soon?

_Beep._

Her heart rate was steady enough. Why wasn't she waking up?

_Beep._

Why were her lips so blue? Oh, god, aren't dead people blue? After a while?

_Beep._

Freaking out, freaking out, freaking out, freaking out...

* * *

_Stella_

I felt really dizzy.

I could hear snatches of conversation, like I was listening to a radio without a good frequency. Loud voices, then soft, crackling and shouting around me. I wasn't cold anymore. I wasn't really feeling anything.

Loud. _"Someone get her to the hospital, fast - Cassie, take the freeway..."_

Soft. _" - hypothermia? What the hell is that? Would it affect how - "_

Barely audible. _"Stella...could you please just do something instead of lay there? I'm sorry, okay.."_

I fumbled to move something, for whoever was talking. In my mind, I thrashed around, probably looking like I was having a panic attack. But on the outside, I didn't even twitch. I felt like crying, but I couldn't cry. What was happening? It was like I was trapped inside myself. Seriously freaky...

A few hours later, I found that I could twitch a finger on my right hand. Nobody noticed, at least so far. I was trying to twitch the finger on my left hand, when I discovered I could hear again - and not in that weird, radio way. Actual hearing.

I could hear a steady beeping, and something like hail against a window. Also, muted noises were coming from the...hallway? I think that's what it was. Lots of people saying doctor, and rushing around. Now and then I heard a yell. Some people came in, said something about my condition. Scratching on paper. Then they left. A snore came from somewhere in the room, but that wasn't what I was focusing on. I just realized something.

I was in the hospital.

* * *

_Ray_

I jolted awake, not realizing I had fallen asleep. I had been determined not to fall asleep. Why had I fallen asleep?

Oh well. It didn't matter. Nothing had really changed.

I scooted my chair over next to Stella's bed, watching her while she slept...or whatever she was doing. Her lips weren't so blue anymore, just a little paler than usual. Her hair was laced with crystals. I could see faint, pale blue veins on the underside of her arm, and up her neck, which frightened me. A lot.

Why had I left her out there? _Why had I been so stupid? _I should have dragged her home, talked to her like Scott had to Mo, and fixed everything. Why hadn't I?

I brushed her frozen hair off her cheeks. My fault.

"Ray?"

I jumped, thinking it was Stella who had talked, before turning around. Stella's mom stood in the doorway, carrying a parka and my jacket. Cassie and Wen stood nervously behind her, ready to go.

"Ray, I know you don't want to leave..." she started, shifting her weight from left to right, "But it's not going to help if you stay here. You should get some sleep back at the hotel. Abby keeps calling me asking where you are."I looked down at Stella, thinking. Then, I shook my head.

"I want to be here when she wakes up."

Cassie and Wen exchanged a glance. They didn't think she would wake up soon.

Stella's mom sighed. "All right, Ray. We'll be back at the hotel." Wen gave me a half-hearted salute, and Cassie smiled a bit, then they left along with Mrs. Yamada. I turned back to Stella, then looked up at the clock ticking on the wall. 12.47. In the morning.

This sucked. I scooted my chair back over against the wall.

* * *

_Stella_

"Alright, Ray. We'll be back at the hotel."

Was that my mom? Oh, no. How long had she been here? And was Ray the voice I kept hearing? This was so confusing. Everything was like a giant puzzle I didn't have the pieces to.

"Stella? Can you hear me? I - I'm really, really sorry. You probably can't even hear me anymore, but...I just wanted to let you know...that I loved you. Like, seriously. Not even kidding. If you wake up, I'll take you to Disneyland. We'll go to Japan, order an entire thing of Wasabi, and I swear I'll eat all of it. Without any water. We should go to Vegas. You can swim with sharks, if you want to. Do you still want to? Maybe we can get matching tattoos, and freak out our parents. We can parachute off the Empire State Building. We could buy a house in the mountains, and raise goats. Whatever you want."

It had to be Ray. I felt like smiling. He had really said he loved me.

Everything was quiet for a long time, but I didn't hear any snores. I decided to try to open my eyes, because Ray was so obviously waiting for that. My eyes were on my face, right? Then why couldn't I feel them there?

For a long time, I tried every possible way to see. A longer time later, I gave up. Ray still wasn't asleep. I felt so bad. I decided to try one more time.

Nothing.

Again, maybe?

Still nothing.

With every ounce of willpower I had, I tried. And tried. And again.

That's when my eyes flew open, and I gasped.

I could see.

Ray jumped up, rushed over, and hugged me so tightly I thought I couldn't breathe. When he finally pulled back, I saw something sparkling at the corner of his eye.

"Are you _crying?"_

"No way," he said, still holding my shoulders like he was afraid to let go. "I just got...medicine in my eye."

"Liar." I smiled.

Ray looked me straight in the eyes, blue meeting hazel. For the first time in what felt like forever.

"I never meant anything...we don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I'm serious. This got way out of hand, and it should have been simple. We're so simple, usually."

"Yeah," I smirked, "You're definitely simple, alright. Very simple."

And he kissed me.

* * *

**Yup, so no more Rayella drama. For now, at least... (;**

**I honestly have no idea where to go from this...you guys should give me ideas. Maybe I should take a shower. Another one. Have you ever had, like, a ton of good ideas for stories in the shower? Cause that's what happens with me all the time.**

**Anyways, thank you subscribers SO MUCH for waiting patiently for this chapter!**

**REVIEW! (:**

**- Amber -**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you guys so much for all the nice reviews! I love to know that everyone loves this story, and I love that you love it so….lol. Thanks so much!**

**I'm also using CaitlynGeller4ever's idea for this chapter, thank you! Now I know how to continue this, and that helps a lot!**

**Hope you like this chapter! I made it longer than usual, because I was gone for a few days. It's kind of a filler, but they're good for character development and stuff...**

**DISCLAIMER: I really do wish I owned Lemonade Mouth….then I would put Ray and Stella together forreal, and they would get married and live in a mansion and raise bunnies and happiness.**

**But I don't own it. So I'll just go cry now - or write the chapter.**

**Enjoy, lol! **

**- Amber -**

* * *

_Stella_

Ray and me stayed awake for an hour or so, just talking about what had happened and Christmas and other stuff. I still felt cold, even though I had - like - six blankets wrapped around me. When I told him that, he jumped right up next to me, and hugged me tight. I admit, I did feel warmer…maybe. I seriously needed to blow-dry my hair or something, too. But that could wait for a few minutes. Or hours.

He told me about how, after he left me there, he felt so guilty. But he forced himself to go back, and started getting worried after I didn't come home in an hour. Wen and him went to look for me, and found me passed out on the sidewalk bench, without even my coat on ("You're an idiot," he told me at that part, smiling."). Ray picked me up, and they ran back to the house, where Cassie and Mrs. Yamada drove us to the hospital. Thankfully, I didn't have to get a finger taken off or something - which happened a lot with hypothermia, because the finger would be cut off from circulation and 'die' - but instead, I wouldn't wake up. The doctors said it was from shock, and that I would be up in a few hours, but that didn't happen. So Ray decided to wait here. Then I told him how I tried for hours to wake up, and that I could hear all that time. He blushed.

"Oh, and by the way," I had told him, "I _do _still want to go swimming with sharks."

He smiled, then looked embarrassed. "Did you hear me say…?"

"Yup," I said, smiling. "And I love you too. Most the time."

Now, we were just kinda relaxing in silence, but it wasn't an awkward silence. Ray was running his fingers through my hair, trying to get it un-frozen, while I kept almost-falling asleep, and then jerking back awake, which Ray tried not to smirk at.

Eventually though, I fell asleep with my head on Ray's shoulder.

The next morning, I woke up super-early because the sun was shining through the open window. Looks like we forgot to close the curtains last night. Oops.

Blinking the haziness out of my vision, I turned to the right and saw Ray with his hair all tousled and golden-ish, wearing his jacket and faded jeans and high-tops. It was like a hot-air balloon swelled up in my heart when I realized all our problems were _solved _- we could go back to being that iconic love/hate couple. The legendary band singer, and revolutionary of Mesa High. I sat up, and fixed my pajamas as much as I could. I was wearing a white v-neck, which was still a bit soaked through because of the snow. You could sort of see my bra through it, my hair was frozen, and I was wearing Snoopy pajama bottoms and black Ugg rip-offs that were Mo's. Did the doctors honestly see me like this? How embarrassing.

"Hey, wassup?" Ray said groggily, waking up. Why do boys have the sexiest morning voice ever?

"Morning," I said brightly, hopping out of the hospital bed. Bad idea. My knees gave out, and I hit the ground.

"You can be so stupid," Ray snorted, helping me up. I faux-glared at him, then couldn't help smiling.

A tired-looking doctor with salt-and-pepper hair came in the room with a clipboard and pen. "Oh, hello, Ms. Yamada," he said, sounding surprised, "I'm glad to see you're up already."

"Do you think she could go home soon?" said Ray hopefully, with this expression like a puppy.

"Why…yes, I believe so. If she can stand up, then we can check you out right know."

"Sweet," said Ray, helping me walk along like I could stand on my own. We went through a maze of hallways that smelled like medicine and old people, then ended up in the check-out room.

"Hello," said the nurse sweetly, at the front desk. Her obviously fake blonde hair and obviously fake smile made me want to puke. "Checking out, are we? Do you have everything? Do you need help? Because I can get someone for you - "

"Yeah, we have everything," said Ray huffily. "Can we leave now?" That's why I love him.

The nurse got us checked out, and we exited through the glass doors out into the parking lot. Ray looked at me like, what now? I shrugged.

"Maybe we can call a cab," he said, rummaging through his pockets. With a grin, he pulled out a $20. In about half an hour, we were dropped off at our hotel.

* * *

_Ray_

Our cab driver, a really old lady with pink hair and a dragon tattoo, kept humming Christmas carols all the way back to our hotel. It was driving me insane. Really glad when we finally got out. Stella looked so cute, as we walked up the hotel's stone pathway, with her Snoopy pajamas, and hazel eyes, and boots that were so obviously not hers. I took her hand, and she smiled, a little surprised. We finally got to the front door, and I raised a hand to knock. But suddenly, the door swung open.

"You are such a _moron!" _said Wen brightly, which was how I knew he was overjoyed to see Stella. I heard screams and yells, and then people thundering down the stair. Stella disappeared for a minute in a swarm of people, all talking at once and hugging her. I grinned, letting go of Stella and shoving my hands in my pockets.

"We were _so worried!"_

"Dude, Lemonade Mouth wouldn't be the same without you! Like, ever!"

"When Wen and Cassie got home, Cassie almost threw up. It was awesome."

I followed everyone into the hotel breakfast area, where a few couples and families were eating. We sat down in the largest booth they had, but even then Cassie had to squish next to Charlie, and Stella sat on my lap. Not that I was complaining or anything.

Wen and I told the whole story to everyone, taking a break for a minute while everyone ordered breakfast from Frank. I loved this room. The walls were painted bright yellow, with mismatched tables and chairs, and clashing red and pink booths. Different lights hung from the ceiling - Chinese lanterns glowing soft red, old Victorian candle lamps, chandeliers. Dotted yellow curtains hung on the large, airy windows that let in lots of light. Stella looked around at the room too, and smiled, probably thinking the same thoughts as me.

A few minutes later, after Mo had a spectacular freak-out when her dad - Baba - walked by, our food came. I had ordered a huge plate of bacon, which Stella had kicked me for, and these fried potato-things that Scott said were the best. Stella had just gotten coffee and a blueberry muffin. She said she wasn't that hungry, not yet at least.

Stella gave me the evil eye while I ate an entire plate of "baby pigs" as she said, but I just smirked. They were honestly the best baby pigs I ever had. Eventually, she laughed and gave up. I wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Well, you two seem cozier than before," said Wen point-blank.

"Yeah, it used to be that we couldn't find a couch without you two making out on it."

"Charlie!" Cassie laughed.

"Kidding."

"We made up," said Ray simply. I nodded.

"Yay, now everyone is all happy!" squealed Olivia. We all looked at her, and she blushed, coughing.

"_RAY-RAY!"_

Abby flew out of nowhere and hugged me awkwardly around Stella - then she hugged Stella too, with big blue bug-eyes.

"I thought you were dead," she said seriously. Then she smiled. "Hooray, it's a miwacle! Thank bejeezus!"

Everyone cracked up.

* * *

_Stella_

Everyone just hung around the rest of the day, playing board games and having snowball fights in the street. Christmas was in two days, and I still hadn't wrapped presents. I would do that tonight.

One thing I noticed throughout the day, though, was that Mo and Scott shrunk back when Baba walked by them. He never spoke, never even looked, but Mo and Scott always looked guilty or something. I would have to interrogate them.

It was almost 10:30 at night, when I yawned and pretended to be tired so I could go upstairs and wrap presents. Ray surprised me by grabbing my hand before I walked away, spinning me around and kissing me right there in front of everybody. It wasn't just a short kiss either - it was probably ten seconds long, and the make-out-y kind we usually saved for private. He broke away first, and I hated that I was blushing.

"Night," he smirked, knowing - and probably loving - that he could make me feel like that.

"N-night," I stuttered.

I was vaguely aware of Mo and Cassie aww-ing in the background.

When I got upstairs, I saw Olivia had the same idea as me, so we wrapped all of our presents together. Olivia had gotten Wen a new game for Xbox - something to do with rapping, and a whole box of Dutch Chocolate or something. I forgot wrapping paper, so Olivia let me borrow hers - Hello Kitty, Christmas version.

Mo and Cassie came in about an hour later, and Olivia hid all the presents in her closet, including mine (except for the gift I was giving her - that one was under my bed).

Mo immediately picked out some pajamas, and went to the bathroom to take a shower,

Cassie sat down on the floor, and started texting someone. Me and Olivia scooted closer, glancing at each other - we had wanted to ask her if she knew why Mo and Scott were so freaked out.

"Hey…" started Olivia. Oh, gosh, she was bad at this. "What's up, Cass?"

"Not much…?" Cassie looked confused.

"Okay, listen," I said, leaning forward and talking lower so Mo couldn't hear. "Have you noticed that Mo and Scott are being weird? Like, when she freaked out at breakfast? And that always happened when her dad walked by."

Cassie nodded. "Yeah…I heard Mo and Scott talking about something. Like 'last night shouldn't have happened, I'm really sorry Mo', and stuff like that."

Me and Olivia gasped, and Cassie looked confused.

"You don't think…"

Mo came out of the bathroom in grey boy-shorts and a loose white tee-shirt that had the silver words "I Christmas" on it. She stopped in her tracks when she saw us - all gathered around in a very suspicious huddle.

"Umm…whatcha doing there?" Mo stood above all three of us with her hands on her hips.

We all sat there, pretty quiet. Suddenly, I just wanted to know the truth.

"Did you and Scott do it while I was in some coma-thing last night?" I blurted out.

"Stella!" Cassie kicked me.

"What? Someone had to ask."

Mo looked at the ground, her high ponytail swinging over her shoulder. Then, she muttered, "I might as well have."

"_WHAT?" _All three of us exploded, jumping up and staring at her.

"No - no, but I _didn't_," she said frantically, waving her arms. "Me and Scott were just…um, kind of caught up in the moment, in his room. Scott had his shirt off, and the door was unlocked - which was really stupid, now that I think about it - a-and then…Baba walked in." Mo buried her face in her hands, starting to cry.

We all gaped at her. Mo? Scott? _Baba?_

This was bad.

This was really bad.

"Mo," I said, sitting down next to her. "We can so figure this out. Don't worry." Cassie and Olivia nodded in agreement.

"I don't know," she said slowly. "Baba hasn't even talked to me, or looked at me, and that's what scares me. He's never even seen Scott kiss me on the cheek. It's like he's so angry, or disappointed, that he'll never talk to me again. Treat me like some huge let-down."

We all went to bed. I was thinking about today, and how scary it would have been to Ray. I stayed up for a while.

But the absence of Mo's snoring told me she was awake too.

* * *

**Oh no, more drama! :) Review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Soooo, I'm sort of sick. In the summer. Well, I think it's because I was out in the sun way too much, but still. That means I have to be a vampire today! Stay inside, no sun, write Rayella stories until midnight…yeah, it's not that bad…lol. I'm really sorry for not writing in a few days! I've been on vacation for a while. I really hope you like it! I love that you guys love this story.**

**- Amber -**

* * *

_Stella_

So, we had a plan.

Was it a good plan?

No. No, not really.

But it was something, at least.

We decided, early this morning, that Mo would have to try and talk to Baba, no matter how awkward, with Scott. She would explain that, no, they weren't doing anything more than kissing, and that Baba should calm the freak down. Well, maybe not in those exact words. Whatever. Mo was good at explaining things, and hopefully Scott was too.

Now it was almost 7:00 AM, and time for the plan to be set in motion.

"Hey, have you guys seen my hairdryer?" Cassie came out of the bathroom in a robe, with her long hair up in a massive, nest-like bun on the top of her head. I burst out laughing, and fell on the floor.

"Not funny," she growled. Mo groaned, and poked her head out of her Vera Bradley flower-patterned suitcase.

"I can't find my favorite jeans either," she said, rummaging through a carry-on now. "I could have sworn I left them on the floor last night."

"You guys need to get organized," I grumbled, pulling a faded purple hoodie on over a black tank-top and jeans.

"Hmmmph," sniffed Cassie, going back into the foggy bathroom.

Olivia crept into the room quietly, after going downstairs to spy on Baba- we were trying to determine if he was in a good mood, enough to listen to Mo and Scott.

Speaking of Scott…

"Hey," he said, walking in the room. "Are we good to go? Where's Mo?"

"Here," she said, standing up frantically. "I can't find my favorite jeans…do you think it would be okay if I wore sweatpants to go talk to _Baba? _Would he still find that trustworthy, or are sweatpants untrustworthy? I'm getting sick just thinking of this…"

Scott went over and wrapped an arm around Mo's waist, telling her it would be okay to wear sweatpants. When Mo went to go change, I pretended not to notice her hands shaking the tiniest bit. Scott pretended not to notice too.

When she came out in light pink sweatpants and a ott took her hand and they left to go downstairs.

Olivia, Cassie, and I glanced at each other - then followed them silently.

Scott and Mo walked downstairs, turning left to go into the breakfast area. I heard a few whispers, then some talking. It was getting more urgent now - Scott kept getting interrupted, and oh, God - did Olivia ever tell them what mood Baba was in? What if he was in a horrible mood?

"Olivia," I hissed, nudging her arm. "Is Baba in a good or bad mood?"

Olivia's eyes widened, and she stuttered, "Um - uh - gah -"

"_I WILL NOT TALK TO YOU, MOHINI." _

Cassie, Olivia, and I flinched. _Oh, this was bad, bad, bad…._

"Baba, _please_, just let us explain -"

"_YOU HAVE BROUGHT SHAME ONTO OUR FAMILY."_

"I'll take that as a no," I muttered to Olivia, who was biting her lip so hard I thought it might bleed.

* * *

Mo had disappeared from the house.

Later that day, after the early-morning-fiasco, everyone was gathered around the fireplace. Lemonade Mouth (and extra) had realized that Mo wasn't anywhere around lunchtime, and had went looking. It was like some big game of hide-and-seek. We checked all the closets, asked Frank and Linda for room keys, searched this basement - freaky down there - and even the rooftop garden, which was pretty much frozen slick. She wasn't in the house, or so we thought, so we just gave up and decided to let her come out when she was ready.

Lemonade Mouth (plus extra…you know, Lemonade Mouth just means everyone and Cassie/Ray, okay?) where gathered in a tight group, a little away from the adults and little kids, who were closer to the fire. We didn't want anyone to know that Mo was gone. They would all freak out.

"Has anyone actually tried calling her?" I suggested, crossing my arms.

"Yup. I got her voicemail," sighed Scott, tossing his phone in the center of the circle. "Anyone want to try again?"

So we did. Nothing happened.

"_Hi! This is Mohini Banerjee. Please leave a message, or call me again later! Thanks, and…."_

Mo's chirpy voicemail faded out, and we all groaned.

"Anyone want to get dinner?" said Cassie, un-braiding her hair. It fell down in loose waves.

"Sure," we all agreed, standing up and stretching. Even though it was early - only 5:30 - I was hungry from searching all day. As we walked there, Ray intertwined his hand with mine, and gave me his signature Beech smirk.

"How's it going, Yamada?"

"Pretty good, except for the fact that my best friend is missing and her dad is acting like a total douche."

"Always the optimistic one."

We all sat down in a breakfast booth, and Linda came over to take our order. I looked at the dinner menu, but I honestly didn't feel hungry. I just wanted to find Mo so bad, and maybe knock some sense into her dad.

"Stella? Do you want anything?" Ray looked at me, and I realized that maybe I had zoned out of it for a minute.

"Umm….maybe a water," I said slowly.

"Ok, dear," said Linda, looking a little concerned. "Frank will have all your orders out in a few minutes, everyone."

She hobbled back into the kitchen, and everyone just sat there, not saying much. It was safe to say we were all exhausted from searching all day, and now all we could do was wait. The sky outside had gotten dark in just the past half hour, and snow had fallen down in flurries, sticking to the windows. It was almost cozy in the breakfast area now, with yellow light coming from every odd light on the ceiling.

Olivia groaned, and laid her head on the table. Cassie rolled her eyes, and did the same.

"We-we can't give up, guys!" I said, trying to act excited. "We can find her!"

"No we can't, Stella," chorused the entire table.

I sank back in my seat, and Frank walked over with our food. Um, and my water.

"Hey, there, kid-o's. How's it going?" Frank set down my water first, which I didn't touch. The others got their dinner, and just the smell of actual food made my stomach churn. In a bad way.

"Good," we all said, in a monotone.

"Now, that doesn't sound very good!" accused Frank, with a huge grin. Now, don't get me wrong - I like Frank and his happy-go-lucky attitude. But tonight…I wasn't very happy-go-lucky.

"Oh, we've just been looking for our best friend all day, and can't find her. Nothing to worry about," I snapped.

Frank frowned, and leaned forward. "Say…what did your friend look like again?"

* * *

**I know, this is an odd place to cut off, but I can't write more, my laptop is about to die...review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Pretty, pretty please don't kill me. **

**Summer was really busy, and now school is really busy, combine that with killer writer's block for this story and...yup. But hopefully this story can get back on a good schedule. Anyways, how long should this story continue? I was thinking maybe until Christmas day (in the story), for five or so more chapters, but I can make it longer :) Whadya guys want for it? **

**- Amber -**

* * *

_Stella_

Frank had that glint in his eye, like he already knew the answer to his question and just wanted to give us the answer. My mom said I was good at reading people, even if they weren't an open book.

"Frank, tell us what you know." Charlie took a mini flashlight out of his pocket, and waved it straight at the old guy.

"Gah, wow, turn that off," Frank said, raising his hands to shield the glare.

"Did you see where Mo went?" Ray interrogated quickly, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah, man," whined Wen. "We've been looking all day, give us a break."

"Dude, I even broke a nail for her."

"Cass?"

"Kidding."

Frank just waved us all off and hobbled in the other direction. "She looked mighty upset, said she just wanted to be left alone for a while..."

"So you _do _know!" I got up and ran over to Frank, crossing my arms. "You have to tell us, or else this whole thing will just make Mo and her dad have a horrible relationship, and then he'll never get to choose a middle name for her first baby girl, and then the baby girl will grow up without a grandpa, bitter and full of hate for the world, and make a machine that will cause toxic poison rain, causing the downfall of mankind, and - "

"Alright, _alright, _calm down. If I tell you, I gotta give you the keys too. Gimme a minute."

Everyone stood up and gathered around me, while Frank limped off towards the kitchen. Olivia glanced at me inquisitively, and I just shrugged. Who knew what the keys were for?

Within a few minutes, Frank came back. He was holding a pair of brass keys, with rust so old it was almost brown on one side, and dust layered over the entire thing. The teeth on the end were carved with odd, intricate shapes.

"Now, this," said Frank, lowering his voice so that the other customers could not hear. "Is the key to the attic."

"There's an _attic here - ?_" Wen almost shouted, lowering his voice at the end as Frank shot him a look.

"Yes," said Frank. "But we don't let anyone up there, because all of our old antiques and relics are up there. Mo though, Linda felt a terrible bit for her, what with her dad being angry about the whole relationship trouble. Mo wanted some alone time, no where to go, Linda gave her the other key."

So _that's_ why we couldn't find Mo in the house. She was above it.

"But wait," said Ray, crossing his arms, his eyebrows furrowed, looking down. "We didn't find an attic door on the ceiling or anything. Like, one of those you drop the stairs down and climb up. Nothing like that."

"And that," smiled Frank, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Is because the entrance to the attic is hidden."

He motioned for us to follow him, and we were lead through the house, down two flights of stairs, into the very basement. Down there were spices and canned food, and water dripping onto the floor from a pipe was a perfect rhythm. I gave Lemonade Mouth - well, excluding Mo - a sideways glance and started to snap my fingers. Charlie took a pencil out of his back pocket, and started drumming on the walls. We would've gone farther, but Frank gave us another look and we stopped.

"Watch closely," he said scratchily, the heavy basement air making his voice crack.

We all stepped back. He wandered over to a stack of books, then pushed them out of the way, revealing a tiny stone door. If we hadn't been closer, it would have blended perfectly with the wall. The books in front were barely needed.

"Have I mentioned that spies lived here in 1851?"

"Frank, how are we going to get to the attic from all the way down here?" Wen looked doubtful.

"Ah, Wen, but you would never suspect that from all the way down here you could get to the attic, now could you?" Frank raised an eyebrow.

"I guess not."

Ray slipped an arm around my waist, as Frank unlocked the door quietly and ushered us forward.

I dove in first, and I'm pretty small - Petite? Is that the word? - so it was an easy fit. Olivia could fit through almost as well as me, and even though Cassie was really tall, she got in the door just as easy. The guys, though...we almost had to get cooking oil or something for Scott, the dude is almost six foot. Ray and Wen had to squeeze through pretty painfully (Ray's shirt got stuck in the door, giving us all a glorious view of his - well toned, thank you - stomach) . Charlie didn't want to mess up his hair, so Cassie got in a giggling fit. But, after five minutes or so, we were all in. Except Frank.

"Are you coming?" Charlie poked his head out the door.

"Nah, this door would mess up my old bones. You folks go and find your friend. But, be careful - some parts of this attic are rickety and a lot of it is just narrow, low passageways. Sometimes you might have to crawl. Those people back in the 1800 were damn short. Don't fall through the floors. There are about five flights of stairs, then you reach the actual passageways. You know you reach the end when you're at the only large room. I bet Mo would be in there."

"Thanks, Frank," we all chorused.

He closed the door with a grinding _bang_, and we all stood up. The guys and Cassie had to crouch a bit so their heads wouldn't hit the ceiling. Finally, the passageway opened up, and there was a huge, winding set of stairs. Dust motes floated around in the thick air, and the only source of light was a small stained glass window at the very top. Faint rainbow waves danced on the cream walls, and over the dark hardwood floors. Rusty brass light fixtures lined the walls, all three flights of stairs. It was beautiful, undisturbed, and peaceful. I could understand why Mo would want to be alone up here. Seriously. But at the same time it seemed almost creepy, twisting my stomach into a knot. Being here was like breathing in dark history...and with the events of spies, the history here might not have been so good.

What if someone had been murdered on this stairwell?

Just the thought made me fumble for Ray's hand in the semi-darkness.

Ray squeezed my hand comfortingly, like he knew what was bothering me. I smiled a little smile to myself. Friends, couples, family. Wen wrapped an arm gently around Olivia, and Cassie stepped near Charlie, who brushed a strand of hair out of her face. We all moved in closer as one big group. Scott grinned at Wen, then at me, and after turned away. He looked a little disappointed. Maybe it was because Mo wasn't here.

We traveled up the stairs at an odd pace, sometimes fast, but mostly slow. By the top step we were all exhausted, and ready to just go sleep somewhere. But we all agreed we needed to look more.

The passageways were solid stone and rock, lit every few feet by an old, cobweb-y scone lamp. There was only one passageway to begin with, but then we came to a fork in the hallway. Besides the fact that one had an ominous, faded dark red stain on the wall, they looked exactly the same. It was getting harder to see in the dim light, almost 10:00, getting darker every few minutes. Also, the tunnels were freezing, and neither Olivia or Scott was wearing a jacket.

"Great," groaned Ray, smacking the wall. "Which way do we go."

"What if we split up?" Charlie suggested.

"That is _always_ what the main characters say in creepy horror movies. And then they die. _Painfully._"

"Ray, shut up, please," I said in a pleasant voice, shooting him a glare.

"Olivia, me, and Scott'll go on the left hallway. Stella, Ray, Charlie, and Cassie can go on the right," suggested Wen, herding Olivia and Scott over to the left hall. I eyed the red stain on the right hallway the same way Cassie eyed Charlie's dirty gym locker.

"Sure," shrugged Ray. "Call if you find her, same for us. We'll just keep swimming...uh, walking until we rescue her."

And, so we were off.

* * *

**Review! How long do you guys want this story to go?**

**- Amber - **


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok, I'm really sorry that this wasn't up sooner, but school is getting tougher as Christmas gets closer, plus all of the Halloween and birthdays and projects ...anyways, here it - finally - is! The eighth chapter of A Very Rayella Christmas. Sorry this is a little shorter than usual, but I was in a hurry to get something up. Ready?**

**- Amber -**

* * *

_Ray_

Me, Stella, Charlie, and Cassie all headed down the super-freaking-creepy hallway.

Personally? I just wished that we could find Mo and get out of here.

Part of the reason was that when I was little - well, around 9 or 10 - my dad and I would watch spy movies together, not telling my mom, 'cause they were pretty much rated R. And this one spy - Charles, or something? - well, he was my favorite. He would always save the day, bring home the bad guys, or beat up some Italian mobsters. In the third movie, they killed him off. He was blond, like me...he played soccer, like me...and was awesome in every single way, like me. Uh, sorry. Maybe awesome in just a few ways, like me.

But as we walked down the stained hallways, with cobwebs, and flickering candles, I couldn't help but think of seeing Charles blank-eyed with three bullet holes in his chest.

We kept walking.

Just when we thought the hallway was finally ending in the big room, it twisted left, or right, or we went down another flight of stairs. Stella would huff a little every time this happened, blowing a little strand of hair out of her face, which I found insanely cute. Up ahead, Cassie and her would talk for a few minutes, then she would drift back and lace hands with me.

I kept checking my phone for the time, noticing how the little green bar in the top right corner kept dwindling down, and I mentally kicked myself for not charging it last night.

"Ray?" Stella looked up at me.

"Yup?"

"Remind me, when we find Mo, I _will _strangle her for putting us through all this worrying."

"Right."

"And then," continued Stella, "I'll say sorry, because you know, I'm nice."

"Right." I said again, giving her a little smirk. She rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, the hallway stopped dead. Just a blank, wooden wall. Charlie smacked straight into it, stumbling backwards and holding his nose.

"Oh, God! Someone should put a sign up or something..."

"Only, you, dude," I said, patting his shoulder, and shaking my head.

Everyone stared at the wall intensely.

"I'm calling Wen," decided Cassie, whipping out her iPhone.

* * *

_Olivia_

I don't think any of us saw what was coming.

Wen, Scott, and me had traveled through so many dusty, dark hallways my head was starting to pound. Every so often I would think I was hearing footsteps or little clicks behind me, turn around, and find nothing. It was starting to freak me out. Wen took my hand - which was shaking a little - and Scott walked behind me, but it didn't do much to help. I think all of us were pretty scared right now, but we just kept quiet and to ourselves.

As Emily Dickinson said, _Saying nothing...sometimes says the most._

If you hadn't noticed before, I'm into poetry

_Very_ into poetry.

We all sat down at another turn, and Wen popped open a vintage glass Coke he had brought from the freezer downstairs. Taking turns, we shared it.

"You know guys, I'm starting to wonder if there actually is an end to this maze." Scott leaned his head back against the wall, then pulled it back to find a thick layer of chalky-gray dust. "Crap."

"Let's keep going," I said. "There has to be an end somewhere, right?"

So, onward we went.

Maybe ten minutes later, I heard faint voices coming from somewhere.

"Wen!" I practically screeched, grabbing his arm. "Scott! Do you _hear_ that?"

Then, Wen's phone rang with that annoying "mosquito" ringer, and I almost jumped out of my skin.

"Uh, yes, Wen Gifford. What? Oh, hey, Cassie. What do you mean, who is this? I just said this was Wen! Okay, calm down. A wall, you say? Hmm. Suspicous. No way, if you want advice, I will _keep_ talking in this British accent. Pip, pip. Cheerio. Okay, fine, don't get mad, we're on our way." Wen hung up the phone. "Come on, mates, off to the Jolly Dodger."

I just smiled, shaking my head at his obviously Australian accent.

The voices got louder.

We ran then, turning corners as fast as we could, until we came face-to-face with Ray, Cassie, Charlie, and Stella.

"Fancy meeting you here, chaps."

"Wen, shut up."

Everyone stared at each other, worn out and panic-stricken.

"Why did Frank take us up here? He obviously lied." Charlie rubbed his nose, looking angry.

"Guys, lets not jump to conclusions, I mean... " I trailed off as Ray stiffened, his eyes going wide, and his face going white, pointing shakily to something behind me, Wen, and Scott. We slowly turned our backs, facing the figure at the end of the hallway, standing there and staring blankly at us.

It was Mo.


	9. Chapter 9

**Yay, I got this up early :)**

**So yeah, not much else to say, enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lemonade Mouth (boooo, sad)**

**- Amber -**

* * *

_Stella_

Mo just stared at us, looking as shocked as we were.

Then, she ran straight towards us, and we all flinched back. But instead of attacking us or anything, she hugged us so hard I thought my shoulders were about to pop out of place. Mo was...well, Mo was a mess. Her ponytail was falling out of place, her sweatpants were hanging at a loose angle, and her makeup was smudged, mascara sliding off to the side. But the worst part was her expression, like a hunted animal. She kept looking over her shoulder, and acted like she wanted to get the heck out of there.

"Scott!" Mo breathed, spotting him at the back of the group. He grinned sheepishly, as Mo ran forward to hug him too. This one was longer, obviously.

"Guys," she said, panicked. "This is a trap. It's all a trap - "

"What are you talking about?" said Ray, sounding angry. "Frank would never...I, I mean I guess...no, he would never do anything to hurt us! We're paying customers, if something happens, his business goes down."

"It's not Frank," dismissed Mo, with a wave of her hands. "No way, he has no idea. At least, I don't think he does. I - about - he doesn't know..." Her voice cracked, and Scott wrapped an arm around her. "He doesn't know about...the...people in the attic."

Everything was dead silent for a minute.

"Well, let's get out of here and tell him!" whispered Wen frantically.

"Smart plan," mocked Mo. "I've been trying to do that for about seven hours now."

"Wait, is there even _a big room?_ A room at the end, where everything is stored? Where you were supposed to be?"

"No...maybe. But, considering the people in here, it might be their headquarters, or base, or something. We don't want to look for that." Mo looked like she was trying to think this through hard.

"Why would Frank tell us to look for the big room then?" Charlie leaned his elbow up against the wall. "What if he wanted to lead us there, to our own harm? Why didn't he come with us, huh?"

He waited for us to soak that in, and I admit, I was seriously starting to _freak out._

"Mo," I said tentatively. "Exactly what kind of...people, are we talking about?"

"Um, spies part of an undercover organization that uses the top of this little, small-town, cozy building as a base where no one would ever suspect? Guarded by a maze that traps visitors, allowing the spies to conquer whoever got stuck in them..." Mo said quickly, in a rush as if that_ would make it better._

I gaped at her.

She shrugged. "You asked. I'm just guessing, but from what happened today, I'm thinking it's the truth."

"And how does Frank tie into all this?" asked Scott, pulling Mo a little closer.

"Good question."

We all turned around for the second time in the past few minutes, to see a very angry Frank staring at the blank wall in front of us. He rolled his eyes, took a small silver card from his back pocket, and walked in between us. With one swift motion, he had swiped the silver card in a small crack in the wall, and it slid open.

"You think they would at least leave the _door_ open for you kids, instead of all you standing around this wall like a bunch of weirdo's..." grumbled Frank, shaking his head, and walking in. He motioned for us to follow. I realized he wasn't mad at us, just the spies who were up here.

"That...was..._awesome!_" stuttered Ray, jumping up and down like a little kid. But, he tried to compose himself. "I mean, uh, yeah, that was pretty cool. See it all the time nowadays though."

On the inside, instead of some high-tech laboratory, there was a few desks cluttered with strange, silver equipment, iPads, little laptops, and a bunch of papers. A dozen or so old men - well, I only counted one elderly lady - stood around what looked like a map of the city. Looking up when we walked in, one of them smiled sheepishly and came over to greet us.

"Hey, chaps." The old man who walked over was tall, with thinning gray hair, sparkling blue eyes, and wrinkles around his eyes that suggested he smiled a lot. Wen smirked at Cassie when he used the word 'chaps'. But this guy actually had a British accent. "I, uh...guess we forgot to leave the door open. We sent someone looking for you, but you got here on your own, didn't ya?"

"Only after I swiped the card," said Frank stiffly. "This is Joe."

Joe looked at each one of us, like he was searching for someone in particular. When he met Ray's confused gaze, his eyes softened, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"I...do I know you from somewhere?" Ray scratched his head.

"I would presume you do," chuckled Joe, his eyes lighting up. "Do you recognize this?"

And from the back of his pocket, he took out a little spy action figure, with blonde hair and blue eyes. I think it was from a movie somewhere, probably a million of them out there, but Ray acted like it was the last piece of food on earth. Gaping, he reached out to touch it, and pulled back. In his eyes was shock, and doubt, and then shock again.

"Anyone else confused?" asked Wen.

"I'm not," said Ray, a smile spreading disbelievingly across his adorable face. He stared at Joe like he was Indiana Jones or something. "I'm totally not, this is where you were all these years? My mom always said you were on a mission, but I...just thought she was trying to cover up the fact you left. And gram..."

"Ah, yes," said Joe sadly, shaking his head. "Crazy woman, loved her dearly. We had quite a few adventures together, to tell you that. One of them didn't have a very happy ending. It was back before you could remember her."

Ray sat down, and we followed his lead like little kids at story time.

"Uh, why - why exactly do you speak with a British accent?"

"Cover-up accent," said Joe. "We actually did assume base in New England for a while, I picked it up there, decided to use it here when we moved."

"This is all so crazy," said Charlie, sounding excited. "Awesome!"

"Well, it didn't happen by coincidence, I'm afraid," said Joe, grinning. "I had to hack quite a few computers and send quite a few e-mails of recommendation to get your family here, Ray." He smiled wide, clapping Ray on the back. "But I dare say it was worth it."

"Wow," was all Ray could say. It was all I could think too.

* * *

**Christmas time next chapter, all the drama is wrapped up! Sorry this story got a bit sidetracked, I couldn't think of much...**

**A few more chapters left (maybe two to four) depending on how much inspiration I have, but I really do love writing this story so we'll see :) **

**- Amber -**


	10. Chapter 10

**I have no excuses for being gone so long, besides...um...well, here I am now! Thank you guys sooooo much for reviewing and reading this story all along :) This **_**is **_**the last chapter, which I'm a little sad about, but I'll make sure to finish it off good, so keep reading! I know the last chapter was a little weird, but I had no inspiration and wanted to end that whole Mo-is-sad-dad-is-bad thing quicker than normal.**

**In this chapter, everyone gets a POV! **

**So, yeah, enjoy! *tear***

**- Amber -**

* * *

_Stella_

"Psst!" said a voice. "Stella!"

I rolled over in my bed and groaned. Who would get me up _this _early in the freaking morning? "What?"

"Wake up, come with me!" The fogginess from sleeping started to fade away, and I recognized the voice.

"Nooo, not this early. You will be in _trouble _if you don't let me go back to bed, Beech."

"Yamada, I'll drag your lazy butt out of bed if you don't come with me!" Ray grinned. I could see him now. "It's Christmas!"

Oh, yeah, it was...whoop-de-freaking-do. "I'm still not getting out of bed Ray, it's 5:30 -way too early." I'm not a morning person.

Ray smirked at me for a minute, then grabbed me around the waist and threw me over his shoulder. Olivia, Cassie, and Mo were still sleeping. Luckies. I sighed and let him take me where he obviously wanted to take me, crossing my arms over his back. He carried me down the stairs, through the hallway.

I don't think anyone else was up yet. I couldn't tell. Not even Linda or Frank in the kitchen downstairs. The moon still shone through every window, making pretty patterns on the light hardwood floors. Actually, it was peaceful, and I was kind of glad Ray woke me up. But where were we going?

"Ray...?" I started.

"Just wait a minute," he grinned.

We went outside, where it was a little freezing and reminded me in bad way of when I passed out in the snow. But then Ray put me down and handed me a jacket, which I gladly put on.

"So, why did you bring me outside again?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I...uh, it was spontaneous," he said sheepishly. I could tell he had meant to say something else, but didn't. No real reason."

We stood there, hands linked, for a few minutes, watching the snow fall in soft flurries. It was so silent, nothing but the wind and stark air.

"It's so beautiful," I whispered. Ray just smiled.

"I wonder if any kids have woken up for Christmas morning yet," he said, looking for a glowing window lit up. Not a single one.

"I remember when I was little, and I couldn't go to sleep at night because I just wanted it to be morning already," I said. "And then when I woke up it was like magic, the presents underneath this little decorated tree, and my mom always made cookies. She always said she baked two batches, one for Santa overnight and one for us. I think it was just one batch though. She pretended Santa ate the first one and gave it to us."

Ray laughed, and it seemed to light up the gray air. The laugh faded off though. "I wish Christmas was still magic like that."

That hung in the air for a minute, a little depressing. I broke the silence. "We spend all this time when we're kids wishing we can grow up, putting on our mom's lipstick and pretending our bicycles are cars, and then when we're finally older...we wish we could be kids again. Never getting to appreciate what we have at the time. It's like some endless circle." I looked down, and tugged at my shirt.

Ray squeezed my hand.

"Let's go back in."

* * *

_Olivia_

"Liv! Liv! OLIVA!"

"Huhwhat?" I jerked up in bed, tangled in the covers, and saw a bemused Stella standing over me with a pillow. Mo yawned at her side, and Cassie was dragging herself out of the bathroom.

"It's Christmas morning!" Stella squealed. Mo just looked at our energetic friend like she was a men's gas-station bathroom. "Come on guys, get excited!"

"It's like...7:00 in the morning, Stella," I groaned, but I got up out of bed anyways and slipped on some red-and-white Christmas fuzzy socks. They matched my pajama pants, which were full red.

"Come on, let's go downstairs and see all the presents!" I followed Mo, Cassie, and Stella down the very decked-out stairs, with ribbons and glitter and garland. The boys all waited downstairs, with big grins and their pajamas on. I'll admit, seeing my Wen with his red hair sticking up everywhere and a goofy smile on his face was definitely making me want to kiss him. Right now. For ten minutes.

Ray wrapped an arm around Stella's waist, and they went to sit by the fire. Abby came downstairs with her long blonde hair in a huge kerfuffle and Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas pajamas on. She ran into the kitchen. I walked over to Wen and he ran his hands down my arms, and ending with him holding my hands. It was this gesture we always did. It made me feel all tingly. I loved his green eyes, almost hazel.

"Merry Christmas," he said in a low voice, smiling. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Scott giving Mo a little present under-the-radar. She gasped, and Scott shushed her.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," I said shyly.

We sat down on the couch, and Abby brought us a mug of hot chocolate, which she made herself.

"I added a _glitter _as a special ingredient!" She sang, clapping her hands together and jumping up and down. I turned to Wen with my eyebrows raised.

"Your turn this time," I said.

"Ah, God..." He muttered. He drank a tiny bit, looked like he was about to throw up, and gave Abby a huge fake smile and a thumbs up. She squealed with happiness and flew away.

"Don't die now, buddy," said Charlie, clapping me on the back a few times as I choked on the glitter...wow, it tasted weird. "The bunnies will soon let us have a feast. Did you try that hot chocolate? I had about four glasses of it! And now I feel like I could lift the Scottish Netherlands!" He laughed like an evil villain, and then flipped his hair out of his eyes like a super model.

"Uh...Charlie?" I looked at him oddly. "Are you alright?"

"Quite alright Ted, thanks." He was talking with a really slurred British accent, and Cassie looked especially concerned, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"I added another special ingredient!" Yelled Abby from the kitchen, running out to the living room. "I found this bottle of coolio chocolate!"

"Oh man, Wen, that's not just chocolate!" I yelped, rushing over and taking the bottle away from Abby, reading the label. "This says - Reggie's Hard Chocolate Liquor! _Reggie's Hard Chocolate Liquor!_"

"Sounds like an awesome time," said Ray, sauntering over and grabbing the bottle. "Does anyone want to get cups?"

"No, Ray!" I said frantically. "What are we going to tell Charlie's parents?"

"We could just let them assume Charlie is being Charlie," shrugged Wen. I slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"No!"

"Well, if you chaps will excuse me, I have to board the cruise," said Charlie, standing up. He fell face forward, landing on the floor.

I grimaced at Wen, and he grinned back, looking like he was having the best time ever.

Cassie helped Charlie up and rearranged him on the couch so he looked casual enough. Immediately he started sleeping, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Cassie slumped over on his shoulder.

"Maybe he'll sleep it off?" suggested Ray.

"Maybe," Cassie sighed. "I hope he can enjoy Christmas."

I sat back on the couch and debated with Wen about random, stupid things and watched the snow fall harder as the twinkly lights glowed around the living room. The parents and other guests started to drift downstairs.

Wen intertwined his hand in mine, and I started to relax a little. This was actually kind of funny.

* * *

_Scott_

This morning I woke up the entire room early, because hey, it's Christmas. We all agreed we wanted to surprise the girls this morning. Ray slipped off to go find Stella - he had a plan for today.

I had a plan too.

After taking the little velvet box from my suitcase, I went into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. A really good look.

Besides the light brown hair, the light brown eyes, and the muscles that I had worked for in soccer, what I saw was a guy, eighteen, a legal adult. Senior year halfway over. Colleges applied, exams taken. Graduation in the spring. My girlfriend of five years, since middle school. My amazing, beautiful, smart girlfriend with the overprotective parent and an amazing talent for music. My Mo. This was...something I had been planning since we arrived here in Minnesota.

Pulling a Mesa High varsity soccer sweatshirt over my head, I took a deep breath and slipped the box in my pocket.

Downstairs, the guys were already setting everything up, and Stella helped put garland on the stairs. For some reason she was already up. This meant only one thing...I tried to catch Ray's eye, but he looked away sheepishly. I guess he hadn't asked her yet.

"Ray! Come help me!" Stella yelled. Just like that, he was gone.

Everything after that was a blur of bright lights and smiles, the girls coming downstairs and Abby handing Wen and Charlie hot chocolate. Charlie kept acting weirder and weirder.

And then, just like that, Mo was in front of me.

"Merry Christmas," she whispered to me. I smiled at her, and those brown eyes lit up like the Christmas tree.

"Merry Christmas."

Never taking my eyes from hers, I pulled her close to my side and took out the small velvet box, and handed it over to Mo, who opened it with shaking fingers.

The look on her face was priceless, and it would be useless to try to describe it.

"Mo," I murmured, leaning forward so our foreheads touched. "Will you marry me?"

Mo nodded so fast I thought she might have been having a spasm. Her face showed no trace of doubt, even though her parents would most likely kill her.

"Scott, I just - "

"Shh," I told her. "We're going to announce it later."

Mo looked so happy, her eyes glowing. I traced a finger down her arm.

* * *

_Cassie_

I watched Charlie drowsily falling asleep next to me, torn between laughing and feeling a bit sad that he would be knocked out for part of today. I really did love him, and I wanted to tell him.

Preferably when he wasn't hung over.

Lemonade Mouth, Mudslide Crush, and the rest of us all sat down in booths in the kitchen. Linda made pancakes, hot chocolate, gingerbread cookies, and a whole bunch of other stuff that - by the time I stopped eating - I felt like throwing up. In a good way, if that makes sense? Stella sat on Ray's lap, per usual, and Wen and Olivia snuggled by themselves in their own window seat. Mo and Scott looked blissed out sitting across from us. Charlie? He snored the entire time, laying on his back with his head on my thighs, us taking up an entire booth with his lanky frame. He was out cold, man. Usually he just _smells_ food and devours the entire refrigerator.

"C-Cassie?" He mumbled, his eyes blinking open. "My head feels really funny, like that time we went to that frat party and someone spiked the - "

"Okay, that's enough," I said frantically, grinning like an idiot at his parents who were sitting behind us, and shoving a gingerbread cookie in his mouth. "Go back to sleep."

"But I...I..." He was really slurring his words. Geez, Abby needed to use less "chocolate" in her drinks. "I wanna spend Christmas with you."

"We will," I promised, my heart melting at the fact he was hung over and still thinking about me. "I promise."  
"Love you, Casper," he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek. Er, well he aimed for my cheek and got my nose. "Be a good ghost."

I cracked up, realizing that maybe he was drunker than I thought. Calling me _Casper?_ Oh my Gosh, what even?

* * *

_Wen_

Olivia snuggled deeper into my shoulder, and I kissed her forehead. The world seemed totally at ease right now, perfectly harmonic. I could see little toddlers outside playing with the snow, sticking out their tongues and watching in amazement as the flakes melted into water. Olivia tapped her nails on the table nervously, and I smiled at the little snowmen she had painted on them. Our food was long gone by now, and we were just relaxing.

Olivia put a hand on my chest and pushed herself off, just enough to look me in the eyes.

"Merry Christmas," she said, taking a deep breath.

And a happy New Year," I teased her. She wouldn't meet my gaze.

"...Wen, I have to tell you something," she whispered, and my hands started sweating. She tucked her legs up to her chest, resting her head on her knees. I loved her fuzzy white ducky slippers.

"What is it?" I asked frantically. Something about her expression was making me nervous. "Is it about your grandma?"

"No, i-it's about what we did the night _after _my grandma was put in the hospital," Olivia wrung her hands, and I grabbed them both and held them firmly in my lap.

"Liv, that was the best night of my entire life," I told her. "I would never take it back, and I hope you know that."

"Wen, something's not right, it's not adding up..."

"What are you trying to tell me? Just tell me, I love you, alright?" I blurted out. "I love you."

Olivia looked me dead in the eyes, her blond hair falling in waves over her shoulders. "Wen, I'm trying to tell you I'm pregnant."

* * *

_Charlie_

A few hours later, I woke up and my vision _wasn't _blurry for the first time. I could think straight.

I was sleeping on a couch in a secluded corner of the living room, and Cassie smiled at me from the floor, holding a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. I grinned at her sheepishly.

"Did I kick you off the couch?"  
She shrugged indifferently. "S'okay. I like the floor."  
I patted the space next to me, grinning. "Get on up here."

She jumped up next to me, grabbing a pillow and smacking me with it. I gasped in faux horror and softly hit her with my own pillow, and pretty soon we were giggling and snorting and jumping around. A couple feathers flew out of the pillows, and Cassie blushed, putting hers down. I think she felt bad. Her back pressed up against the couch arm, sitting right in front of me, I placed my arms on either side of her and leaned in. We made out heatedly for a few minutes, and then we heard a small squeak like a mouse being stepped on.

"Ewwww, Auntie Cassie and Unca' Charlie, stop sucking face," Abby squealed, giggling and covering her eyes. I laughed and got up off the couch, Cassie hopping on my back. I scooped up Abby with my other arm, and headed for the Christmas tree. There was only one reason Abby would come looking for us - it was present time.

* * *

_Mo_

I was so happy. So, so happy. No - happy wasn't a strong enough word. I wish I had a dictionary.

I was...er...blissful. Euphoric. Stunned. Loved. I never wanted to be with anyone but Scott, and I knew that now. Screw what Baba would say, I was getting married because I was never going to love anyone else the same way I loved the boy - no, man - next to me. Scott held my hand gently in his, rubbing circles in my palm with his thumb. It was calming as I saw the furtive and somewhat suspicious looks my parents were giving us. I saw Wen and Olivia talking seriously on the couch, and Wen looked uber excited. I saw him brush a hand against Liv's stomach, and I became curious. Something was going on. I was going to find out later.

It was present time! Nothing could top Scott's present, but I got some adorable clothes, stuffed animals, chocolate, money, the usual - my friend's presents were a little more personal. A charm bracelet from Olivia, a scrapbook from Cassie, and a pair of boots Stella had borrowed from me and never given back. I gave her an exasperated smile, and she grinned mischievously. The boys got me cards, candy, and little trinkets from gift shops around town. The atmosphere in the air was amazing, like sunshine was filling the room. And I knew as long as I could have Scott, the sunshine would stay.

No more stormy days.

* * *

_Ray_

It was time.

Half an hour had passed, and Stella was getting just too tempting. Her bright hazel eyes, her loud laughs, her white smile with that slightly crooked tooth on the side that the dentist never bothered to fix. The way she danced to Christmas music with Abby, and hugged all our friends. Man, I was getting sappy. Before Stella I never got sappy! But she was worth it. And let me say, it wasn't just her personality that was turning me on. Those tight black skinny jeans and dark green v-neck...

I crossed the room to where she was standing, throwing away wrapping paper.

"Stella," I whispered huskily in her ear, wrapping my arms around her waist. making her jump. "Do you...want to do more than kiss tonight?"

Her mouth opened, a little shocked, but I could tell she had been thinking.

"I thought you'd never ask," she said, smirking at my puppy-like expression. I pulled her in for a hug, burying my face in her neck and kissing her before pulling away.  
"Merry Christmas, Stell-Bells." I laughed, glowing with excitement, at the scowl she gave me at her least-favorite nickname.

I grabbed her hand and we ran up the stairs.

* * *

**Well, there you go! A bunch of suprises, cute couples, and *cries* now it's the end.**

**Thank you guys so much! This was one of my all-time favorite stories to write, and I hope you loved it too.**

**Make sure to review, for the last time.. :)**

**xoxo - Amber**


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